


In need of a Navigator

by Opossumtivity



Series: One Piece || Nothing But Trouble [6]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Bickering, Bonding, Fluff and Humor, Gender Neutral, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23084086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opossumtivity/pseuds/Opossumtivity
Summary: Traveling to the new world can prove quite challenging without a Navigator, so Bartolomeo thinks it's time to hire one. If only things were as easy as they sound.
Relationships: Bartolomeo (One Piece)/Reader
Series: One Piece || Nothing But Trouble [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948900
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	In need of a Navigator

The kingdom you grew up in the grand line was pretty secluded from the outside world, it was a place prominent at fishing and navigating which you were grateful for since that's where you gained your skills. Unfortunately they tried to become independent from the world government or something like that, you didn't care to know all the details, all you know is that it didn't take long for the kingdom to fall under bad administration and law problems. Fed up with the situation you lived in, by the time you became 18 you decided to set out into the world and start a new.

Over the course of the years you polished your navigation skills and offered your services to merchants and occasionally pirates, just giving them enough of your time to help them reach the next island or making log poses for them. It helped you reach new places so you didn't mind.

You've lived a regular life since then. Or what one can consider normal in the grand line. It wasn't until one day a man with an odd green hairdo and sharp teeth came up to you at a tavern, interrupting your lunch with his raucous voice.

"How much for your services?" he said rudely and upfront.

"Tsk, the whore house is across the street jackass." you replied just as rude, taking a sip from your drink. Treat others like they treat you, or so you thought. 

"Oh please, if I wanted a whore for that i would've picked a much more appealing one." he waved off with his hand, smirking at the reaction he gained from you.

You felt your eye twitch along with the grip on your drink getting tighter, who did this guy think he is?!

"But that's not what i'm looking for right now. I need a navigator to cross my ship under the red line and i heard you're the best one here. " the green haired man explained much to his distaste, like he didn't want to admit he needed help but had no other option.

If this was anyone else and not a potential client, you'd gladly give him the bird and send him off, but considering you've been low on cash recently.

"You are aware that 70% of the ships that sail to the new world don't make it whole, right?" you dropped off the rude attitude in exchange for a more serious one. Business was business. 

"Well duh! We're more than ready to die at any chance! But that's why i want you to guide us-" he leaned his shoulder onto your table, challenging you with a cocky smile. "Unless you think you can't make it?"

You narrowed your eyes competitively, grabbing your drink and chugging it down in one sip. "Alright, let's do this." you grabbed the bag of coins and stood from your seat. You had nothing to loose so might as well go with it.

The man guided you to his ship, he introduced himself as Bartolomeo captain of the Barto club. All he did during the walk towards the bay was rant about specific rules for you, like how he didn't want you crying if they happen to encounter enemy pirates, you rolled your eyes

Your first impression of their ship threw you off. For a man with such an odd appearance it was natural he'd have just as odd ship as well, stylized in the shape of a man unfamiliar to you. You found yourself gawking due of its bizarre structure. 

"Impressed by our ship?" Bartolomeo grinned, placing his hands on his hips as he boasted proudly. "I came up with the design myself." he looked at his nails ready to listen to compliments that never came.

You face panned at your temporary captain, looking between him and his weird ship. "Uh... Impressed is a strong word."

You didn't want to judge a book by it's cover. However, aboard the ship wasn't any better. At first glance the deck was unkempt and smelly but upon closer inspection there were rows of chewed bubblegum stuck onto the ships walls, successfully grossing you out in an instant.

"Do you guys even clean this place? what's with all the bubblegum?" you pointed a thumb to the mess, the crew seemed to look embarrassed but their captain took it as an insult since it was HIS ship you were talking about.

"Listen Navigator. We're pirates who face dangers 24/7, so we don't have time to play clean up." he stated matter of factly, poking your chest with his finger much to your irritation. 

"Fine, fine. Do whatever you want, it's your ship and i'm only here to guide you guys." you raised your hands in defeat, you weren't in the mood to argue with the captain.

After being shown your personal quarters, the ship was ready to set sail and you were quick to adapt to the life at sea. However the same couldn't be said about the crew. It was difficult to keep yourself from laughing when you saw the entire 'so called' pirate crew suffer from sea sickness, in fact the moment Bart saw your reaction he didn't skip a beat at shouting "Not a single word!" before placing three sticks of gum in his mouth.

After that, your encounters with Bartolomeo were nothing but arguments during the rest of the trip. It was nothing too serious to involve throwing some hands, just things the two of you couldn't agree on, like which direction the ship should take or if sandwiches should be made with mayo or mustard. With the exception of Bart, you didn't have any trouble getting along with the rest of the Barto Club. In fact they became rather faithful of your knowledge of the sea, they had your back when navigating decisions where involved, but no matter how much you explain yourself Bartolomeo refused to admit you're right.

Because of this, you ended up staying twice the amount of time you originally intended to spend with the Barto Club. You were frustrated with Bartolomeo, you wanted to do your job but the man wasn't cooperating.

"I'm telling you, it's like arguing with a child!" you ranted to Gambia, one of the few members of the Barto Club you've gotten close to during your trip. 

The blonde man didn't have a problem with hearing you out, in fact he was pretty laid back and tried to give you advice even if you weren't fond of his captain. "Have you tried talking to him face to face? Like, nothing about navigation or business in general. Get to know him better, i'm sure you two could settle things out." he smiled, honestly trying to get you and Bart to get along.

You doubt you'll be able to get along with Bartolomeo but you didn't want let Gambia down, he has been quite the great friend lately and the least you could do was attempt to follow his advice.

_________________

It was late in the evening when you knocked on Bartolomeo's door. 

"Who the hell knocks nowadays? Come in, i'm busy!" the green haired captain shouted from behind the door. It felt weird to walk into the room of a man you didn't get along with, you were half expecting to find bizarre or creepy stuff but you were relieved to see it was a fairly normal room, in fact it was surprisingly clean unlike the ship deck- especially the wall to your left. There were some portraits on that side of the a wall but you didn't pay attention to them, instead your eyes fell on the green haired man hunched over at a table while working on something.

"Oh, it's you" Bartolomeo gave you a quick look, his voice laced with disappointment and annoyance. "What do you want?" he asked, returning to work on whatever he had on his table. 

"I came to talk to you Bartolomeo, I think it's time we see face to face without arguing and reconcile." you explained calmly, trying to keep your posture and embrace yourself for whatever the rude captain had to say to you. 

"Huh, Is that so?" the green haired man paused on what he was working on. "Oh wait, I know what this is all about. " Bart came to the realization, standing up from his wooden chair. 

Out of all the things you prepared yourself to hear from the man, that wasn't one of them. "Thank goodness." You sigh in relief, glad that the captain understood your motives without explaining them. You must've judged him wrongly all this time, thinking he was an idiot and a brute who wasn't capable of reason. "That means we can finally settle things and sail smoothly-"

"You're obviously in love with me." the captain expressed with a smug smile. 

Or maybe not.

"What?" you tilted your head to the side in confusion. 

"I should've seen it earlier. No wonder you're always picking a fight with me, it's just your way of grabbing my attention since you're so infatuated with me." Bartolomeo comb his fingers through his green hair, boasting his own ego. "I'm flattered honestly, but it can never work out between us." he pretended to act in dismay, but truth be told it only made him look the more ridiculous.

"Bartolomeo you got it all wrong-" you tried to explain but the man only interrupted you once more.

"If it makes you feel any better we could forget all that arguing and just have some fun time tonight." Bartolomeo gave you an odd look, which you could only describe as 'bedroom eyes' while his hands went to unbutton his pants. "Just let me warn you that I bite~"

You didn't waste another second before grabbing one of the many liquor bottles lying around and splashing the contents on Bart's face, the man was obviously pissed off by your actions. But mostly due to the fact you rejected him.

"That's not why I came here you idiot!" you raised your voice too high pitched for your liking, feeling your face grow warm and flustered.

"Didn't you say you wanted to reconcile?!" Bart hissed in pain, rubbing the alcohol from his eyes since that stuff stings.

"But by talking it out like reasonable adults!" you placed the bottle back at it's spot, crossing your arms over your chest. "This was a terrible idea." You were starting to have doubts about your plan, backing up as you headed for the door. However on the way out you failed to notice another glass bottle on the floor, stepping on it and causing you to slip back against the wall filled with portraits with a thud. 

"Hey!" Bartolomeo rushed to you, you thought he was going to help you stand up but instead he went straight to one of the portraits. "Watch it, you almost broke it."

You could've retorted back to the captain, but the sight of the perfectly aligned portraits caught your attention now that you were close enough to realize they were actually framed wanted posters. In fact, it wasn't only the wanted posters but you also caught a glimpse of newspaper clippings and other miscellaneous objects. Judging by the the curtains decorating around the frames, you were quick to assume this was more than just a bad taste in interior decoration, it felt more like a shrine.

"Who are these people?" you asked all of a sudden. 

"You don't know who the straw hat pirates are!?" Bartolomeo raised his voice in disbelief, eyeing you like you just grew a second head.

There was a moment of silence where the green haired man took a deep breath "Take a seat, cause boy- do i have a tale for you!"

________________

"Whoa hold on a second, so you're telling me this guy not only defeated a warlord but he also broke into Impel Down?" you asked with a marveled expression. "That's incredible!"

Your question only fueled Bartolomeo even further, talking about how his idol straw hat Luffy defeated the notorious crocodile a month ago.

"I'm telling you (y/n) it was like the man was god himself!" Bart said with a dreamy sigh. 

You smiled under your drink. This was a new side of Bartolomeo, more child-like and ecstatic, it was meeting a new different person. 

"He sounds like a really cool guy, has anyone told you you're really good at storytelling?" you complemented the man. 

His reaction was completely unexpected, there was a light pink tint decorating his face. 

"You think so? I'm glad to know since the story of the great luffy must be well known to everyone." he smiled happily at the thought. "I can already see it now, he'll be so thankful for me collecting more followers for him that he'll want to drink sake with me~" Bart sighs dream fully. 

You wanted to giggle at the sight of him get all excited over fictional events, however you stopped once you saw him tear up. 

"But I'm not worthy to share drinks with someone as cool as strawhat Luffy!" he cried out. 

You couldn't tell if it was the alcohol you two were already drinking or he legit doubt himself, but either way it felt sad (and maybe a little awkward) to see him cry all of a sudden. 

"Hey man, don't worry about that. You're a pretty cool guy to hang with, I mean you're good at story telling and you got a really badass devil fruit, I'm sure that's cool enough." you comfort the green haired man, patting Bartolomeo's back. 

The gesture seemed to ease the young man, rubbing his eyes with his forearm. 

"You really think so?" he asked with a sniffle.

"Not only do I think it, so does your entire crew." you smiled. 

Bartolomeo soon imitates your smile, feeling confident in himself to approach Luffy if the time ever comes.

After that night, your point of view of Bart had changed drastically, and the whole crew could tell. You two no longer fought every time you were in the same room and Bart even started to listen to your navigation advice. 

"Captain, judging by the cloud formations we should take a slight detour east west or we'll be caught in middle of a storm." you suggested bart. 

The crew looked back at you two in fear, awaiting for the shouting match like usual. 

"If that's what it takes to avoid any damage to the ship, then let's do that." the captain said casually. Much to everyone's surprise. "Don't just stand there, steer the ship east west!" bart orders. 

"Yes sir!" his crew responds. 

While the course changes, Bart leaned against the ship's wooden railing, looking back at you with a new sense of friendliness. "Have I told you about how the straw hats got their ship?" bart asked with a glint in his eyes. 

"You have. But I'd like to hear it again." You smiled at the green haired captain, leaning towards him in interest.

It's nice to know things can finally sail smoothly.


End file.
